The present invention relates in general to a word information storage and retrieval device and, more particularly, to an electronic dictionary and language interpreter for providing efficient and rapid retrieval of any desired word or words stored therein.
Recently, a new type of electronic device called an electronic dictionary and langauge interpreter has been available on the market. The elctronic dictionary and language interpreter differs from conventional electronic devices in that the former is of a unique structure which provides for efficient and rapid retrieval of word information stored in a memory. An example of an electronic dictionary and language interpreter was disclosed in Levy U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,236, June 12, 1979, "electronic dictionary and language interpreter".
Conventional portable language interpreters functioned so that a noninflected word is entered to obtain a translated word equivalent to it. Usually the inflected word is not contained within a memory of the interpreter. Even if the inflected word is stored in the memory and the relation of the inflected word to the noninflected word is stored in the memory, it is difficult to obtain a translation of the noninflected word rapidly. Frequently the inflected word may have another translation word which does not correspond to the noninflected word. Therefore, it was difficult to determine that the inflected word corresponded to a particular noninflected form.
It is desirable for portable language interpreters to generate a translated word equivalent to an inflected word and another translated word equivalent to the noninflected word, in response to the introduction of the noninflected word.